Liberian ex-president Charles Taylor’s appeal against his conviction for war crimes and crimes against humanity has been rejected. Last Thursday, the Special Court for Sierra Leon (SCSL), an independent tribunal established jointly by Sierra Leon and the United Nations, unanimously upheld Taylor’s convictions and 50-year sentence. [SCSL] The UN Security Council released a statement calling the decision “an important step
Read moreLatest Posts
Committee on the Rights of the Child and Other Treaty Bodies Hold September Sessions in Geneva
This week in Geneva, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is holding its 64th Session to review States’ implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its optional protocols. Earlier this month two other United Nations human rights treaty bodies, the Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) and the Committee on the Rights of Persons
Read moreECtHR Rules Turkey’s Automatic and Indiscriminate Ban on Prisoners’ and Parolees’ Voting Rights Is Too Harsh
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), in the case of Söyler v. Turkey, no. 29411/07, Judgment of 17 September 2013, has held that Turkey’s ban on convicted prisoners’ voting rights violates Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 (right to free elections) to the European Convention on Human Rights. [ECtHR Press Release]
Read moreECtHR Launches New Print and Online Collections of Leading Case Law
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has launched both print and online collections of its leading judgments, decisions, and advisory opinions since 1998. Although the Court processes a high volume of applications and issued judgments in respect of 1,678 applications in 2012, the collections only focus on the Court’s most significant decisions interpreting the standards of the European Convention
Read moreUN Confirms Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria and Urges Security Council Action, as Syria Joins Chemical Weapons Convention
Following UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s formal announcement on Saturday of Syria’s accession to the 1992 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (Chemical Weapons Convention), the United States and Russia revealed their joint Framework for the Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons. The concurrent release of a UN report containing
Read moreUN Human Rights Office Launches New Database on Standards and Practices to Combat Racial Discrimination
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has launched a new database of information on combatting racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance. The database includes examples of existing protections and practices used at the regional, national, and international levels, including: treaties, relevant decisions from domestic and supranational courts, texts of legal provisions (e.g., legislation
Read moreUN Human Rights Commissioner Reviews Pressing Concerns in Opening Statement at the UN Human Rights Council’s 24th Session
On the first day of the Human Rights Council’s 24th Regular Session, held in Geneva from September 9 to 27, UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay identified a broad range of human rights concerns in her opening statement. She discussed both emerging issues and ongoing human rights violations throughout the world while paying specific attention to the “appalling situation” in Syria.
Read moreExtraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia: UN-Appointed Prosecutor Resigns and Staff Strikes Due to Unpaid Salaries
Andrew Cayley, the UN-appointed co-prosecutor for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), will resign from his position after four years of service, citing personal reasons. “I wish the court well, and I certainly hope that some of the immediate financial issues the court faces can be resolved to allow the caseload to be completed in an orderly and timely
Read moreUN Commission of Inquiry Hears Compelling Witness Testimony in Hearings on Human Rights Conditions in North Korea
The curtain of secrecy enshrouding one of the world’s most isolationist States, North Korea, is being partially lifted this week through the testimony of more than 30 witnesses, including several who have fled the country, at public hearings held by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Yesterday, survivors of North Korean prison
Read moreAdvisory Committee and Working Group on Communications Meet in Advance of UN Human Rights Council's 24th Session
As advocates prepare to attend the United Nations Human Rights Council’s 24th Session, to be held in Geneva from September 9 to 27, two of the Council’s subsidiary bodies will be in session this month. The Advisory Committee will convene to make advances in the study of topics of interest identified by the Council, and the Working Group on Communications
Read more